In Israel, every able-bodied citizen, men and women, when they turn 18 receive a letter to report to an army induction center to begin their mandatory military service. On the appointed day, doctors examine them, they fill out forms, receive a "kitbag" filled with army-type items such as boots, pants,canteens (etc...). In addition an identity card with their photo on it is issued.
When they exit the center they are soldiers and thus fall under the laws of the Army and they report to
their assigned army base based on their examination to commence basic training.
The army in Israel is a definitive part of being an Israeli. While most western nations have optional military duty (since they are professional armies) almost all Israelis have to commit a minimum of two to three years to the army. What differentiates this service from others is that almost all of its' members are Jewish. This does not mean they are unified though! There is certainly a difference in terms of how religious one soldier is to another. There also may be 'lazy', less motivated soldiers and indeed there may be pacifists among them, but by and large they share in the belief of the territorial soverignty of Israel.
The Official name of the Israeli Army is "Ha-Tzava Ha-Haganah le-Israel", meaning "The Israeli Defense Forces".
When the state was declared, Israel went to war since the Arab Leage did not recognize it as a soveriegn state. Due to limited resources and manpower all were expected to (and most generally did) chip in.
If one thinks of the circumstances this seems logical. These were by and large a group of war refugees who had come to a land that they perceived as their long lost home, they had little money and they had nowhere to go. Those who were able to avoid the horrors of the Second World War were painfully aware that their culture was nearly eliminated from the earth. As a result, the feeling of these people was one of one of a group with nothing to lose.
The psychology of survival in an area where one's neighbors are hostile toward them and the trauma of the Holocaust combine to make a powerful defensive and almost aggresive chemistry in the Israeli psyche. There is a great sense of duty of service in order to protect the integrity of the nation almost in an 'us or them' mentality.
This sense of duty begins in high school. Israelis learn their nations' history early. They are also given a taste of the army
before they actually reach service age. For at least one week all high school students
participate in a program called G.A.D.N.A. For this period of time they go to special army bases designed to introduce them to
the rigors of army life and the security situation Israel faces. They learn everything form the branches of the army, the command structure, to how to recognize ranks. In addition they go through physical training and learn how to handle basic infantry weapons. All of this before the age of seventeen. Once they graduate from highschool,
they will then fulfill their two to three years of army service. Thereafter they will be
called upon to perform reserve duties and retraining every year until the age of fifty. One can only imagine the impacts such demmands has on the psychology of a society.
To illustrate this impact, let's use an example. If one were to meet an Israeli who is say 40 years old today; unless they are physically impaired somehow, they will likely
have participated in at least three wars in their lifetime. They will likely know somebody who was either wounded or killed in those
wars and they will likely have witnessed in person or on TV a suicide-bombing. With these things in mind, Israelis take their national security serioiusly.
The Israeli Defense Forces is actually an umbrella command structure which oversees Israel's
Land, Sea and Air Forces. Due to Israel's small geographic size, having a force that can be
quickly mobilized and
powerful is the primary goal. Officially, in the event of a war or attack, the first objective is to transfer
the battleground to the aggressors' territory. This can only be achieved only with strong,
well-integrated sea, air, and land forces.
The Army, or land forces has four units: The Golani, The Givati, the Nahal, and the Tzanhannim.
The Tzanhannim is an airborne unit capable of being deployed from a plane. However, today
most troop air transit is done by helicopter, and all infantry units are prepared in this type of transit. In addition, each one of these
units has a 'Sayerot' or reconnaissance unit, these are smaller groups of the same units
tasked with small-force style operations.
The Air Force is comprised mostly of American, French and British-made fighters.
These planes are often shipped to Israel without certain components, which are then put in by
Israeli
companies that design equipment specific to Israel's needs.
Such items might be targeting and telemetry systems, radar or radar-assisting devices and
munitions. One such company that does this is Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
In addition to the regular fighter planes Israel has helicopters like the Cobra and
Apache Longbow as well as a wide array of transport planes. The air force is widely respected
and is without question a key component of Israel's defensive and offensive network.
The Navy is relatively small and holds a variety of ships from frigates, subs and destroyers to
high speed missle and patrol boats. Some subs recently acquired from Germany are reported to be capable of launching SLBM's (Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles).
The navy also has an elite commando unit attached to it known
commonly as "Shayetet 13" or Flotilla 13. They conduct naval-mounted operations and see a great deal of action
in Lebanon. Such operations have involved capturing and or killing wanted guerillas or terrorists who are
not in Israeli territory. Other more frequents tasks would be on the ground intelligence gathering and laser
targeting sites for laser guided bombs (L.G.B.'s) dropped from planes.
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